New England Forest Rally 2022 Preview
NAME: 2022 New England Forest Rally
DATES: 7/15/22 – 7/16/22
HOST TOWNS: Newry, ME. & Errol, NH.
TIME ZONE: Eastern Daylight Time (UTC -4)
NEAREST INTL AIRPORT: Portland International Jetport (PWM)
WEATHER: Sunshine and clouds mixed. Low 55F. High 79F. Winds variable. 20% chance of rain. Sunset 8:24pm EDT.
Subaru is back on the stages July 15-16 at New England Forest Rally, the sixth round of the American Rally Association (ARA) championship. With a narrow grip on first and second overall in the ARA driver’s title race over a charging Ken Block, the Subaru duo of Travis Pastrana and Brandon Semenuk will be pushing hard on the rocky, car-breaking stages of Maine and New Hampshire to take the championship lead into the final three rounds of the year.
New England Forest Rally (NEFR) is one of the ARA calendar’s most popular events and features several iconic stages and spectator points including the epic Concord Pond jump. Despite the high-speed roads, the surface holds large, embedded stones notorious for causing tire punctures or worse. Many competitors have suffered terminal suspension damage by failing to respect NEFR’s infamous orangepainted rocks or dropping a tire too aggressively to the inside of a corner.
The challenge of New England arrives at a pivotal moment in the 2022 championship season, with defending champions Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino holding a narrow lead over teammates Brandon Semenuk and Keaton Williams, and rivals Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino only a few points back after winning the last two rounds. Pastrana and Gelsomino will be out for redemption after crashing out of the lead on NEFR’s second-last stage in 2021, while 2020 champions Barry McKenna and Leon Jordan will return to the 71-car entry list looking for their first win of the year.
With four events remaining in the season and only the top six results for each driver counting for the championship, the title race is still wide open for the top crews. Tune in for updates from Subaru Motorsports USA on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok for all the updates from the event! Live tracking and timing is available via the RallySafe app on Apple or Android.
PASTRANA: “One of the toughest rallies of the season with huge jumps and fast stages. With any luck it will be a dogfight between the top four or five drivers for the entire weekend, just like last year. Four rounds to go and Rhianon and I have the championship lead, but we really need a win!”
SEMENUK: “Last year was my first time at NEFR and I was able to come away with a podium with a cautious strategy and a lot of attrition for the top cars. Heading back to NEFR with experience from last year will be confidence-inspiring, but that won’t change how demanding this event is on car and driver. Expect slim margins and some of the most exciting stages of the year!”
2022 New England Forest Rally Stage Info
Total Distance: 515.23 miles
Number of stages: 15
Stage distance: 111.72 miles
Stage surfaces: Dirt and loose gravel
Longest stage: Icicle Brook SS5 (16.07 miles)
Highest Elevation: 2,000 ft
Recce: Open
Service Parks:
Sunday River Resort, Newry, ME. (Fri)
JML Trucking, Errol, NH. (Sat)
Official Start: 10:31am on Friday
Superspecials: None
Stages in darkness: None
